Foodomics is a relatively new discipline that applies advanced omics approaches in the areas of food safety, food quality and nutrition. Although some research has been done in food safety using some of the more recent omics approaches, such as proteomics and metabolomics, few studies have explored their use in analysing real food samples. In addition, the limitations around these approaches have not been highlighted. The current work focusses on different applications of a proteomics in assessing microbial food safety using matrix-assisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS). This platform was used for two different applications: identification of foodborne pathogens and spoilage bacteria from different culture media and artificially spiked foods; and strain level typing. In the case of pathogen identification from different culture media, the identification rates were found to be influenced by culture conditions (media and incubation time). Limitations in the commercial database were hypothesized as the reason for the variable identifications rates from the different media. Post-customisation of the database led to an overall improvement in the identification rates. In the case of artificially spiked foods, detection of various foodborne pathogens from various complex foods (ground beef, chicken pâte, cantaloupe and Camembert cheese) was evaluated. Detection to the species level could be achieved for spiking loads of 10cfu/mL in most foods in 18-30h. Interfering peaks from protein rich matrices, such as meat, and other inherent microbiota, such as those found in cheese, could pose a challenge for achieving a lower detection threshold using this platform. However, contrary to the currently available pathogen detection systems, MALDI-TOF MS provides a universal platform for detection of multiple pathogens from food. In the case of strain level typing for Listeria monocytogenes, good congruence was observed between MALDI typing and the gold standard PFGE suggesting that it has a potential to provide a more rapid and cost-effective solution.